Tech stocks drop after report that OpenAI’s revenue is lower than expected

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Tech stocks dropped on Thursday after a news report that OpenAI’s annualized revenue is about $20 billion less than previously reported.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, recently told investors that its annualized revenue was nearing $50 billion, according to the Financial Times, lower than the $70 billion figure previously reported by media, including the FT, based on information from investors.

The discrepancy could rattle investors already questioning whether demand for AI will be strong enough to help companies like OpenAI and Anthropic turn a profit and justify the industry’s enormous spending on the AI buildout.

The Nasdaq Composite sank 1.4%, on pace for its worst day since July. The Nasdaq had opened lower but declines accelerated after the FT report published midday.

A source familiar with the documents said the $70 billion figure did not come from OpenAI and likely came from a desire by firms to compare OpenAI’s numbers with Anthropic’s, which includes gross revenue from cloud providers. OpenAI’s is based on net revenue.

OpenAI declined to comment.

There was selling across semiconductor chipmakers, cloud providers and other tech companies involved in the AI buildout. Nvidia shares ( NVDA ) fell 3%, while Intel ( INTC ) and Oracle ( ORCL ) each fell 6%.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced in September that the company would postpone its initial public offering until at least next year, citing concerns about AI safety.

Anthropic is expected to launch its IPO later this fall, reportedly seeking a $2 trillion valuation. In August, Bloomberg and Reuters reported the company is on track to generate an annualized revenue run rate of more than $65 billion.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Hadas Gold contributed reporting.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images

周四，有新闻报道称 OpenAI 的年度收入比之前公布的少了约 200 亿美元，受此消息影响，科技股下跌。

据《金融时报》报道，ChatGPT 的开发商 OpenAI 近日告诉投资者，其年化收入接近 500 亿美元，低于此前包括《金融时报》在内的媒体根据投资者提供的信息报道的 700 亿美元。

这种差异可能会动摇投资者的信心，他们已经开始质疑人工智能的需求是否足够强劲，能够帮助 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 等公司实现盈利，并证明该行业在人工智能建设方面投入巨资的合理性。

纳斯达克综合指数下跌1.4%，有望创下7月以来最大单日跌幅。纳斯达克指数开盘走低，但午间《金融时报》报道发布后，跌势加剧。

一位熟悉相关文件的消息人士称，700亿美元的数字并非来自OpenAI，很可能是各公司为了将OpenAI的财务数据与Anthropic的数据进行比较而得出的，因为Anthropic的数据包含了来自云服务提供商的总收入，而OpenAI的数据则基于净收入。

OpenAI拒绝置评。

参与人工智能建设的半导体芯片制造商、云服务提供商和其他科技公司普遍遭遇抛售。英伟达（NVDA）股价下跌3%，英特尔（INTC）和甲骨文（ORCL）股价均下跌6%。

OpenAI 首席执行官 Sam Altman 于 9 月宣布，该公司将推迟首次公开募股至少到明年，理由是担心人工智能的安全性。

据报道，Anthropic预计将于今年秋季晚些时候启动IPO，目标估值达2万亿美元。今年8月，彭博社和路透社报道称，该公司有望实现年化营收超过650亿美元。

这是一则正在更新的新闻。

CNN的哈达斯·戈尔德对此报道亦有贡献。